EFFECT OF DIET ON ERUPTION TIMES FOR PERMANENT TEETH OF CHILDREN IN PESHAWAR

Abstract

The objective of this study was to find out any association between eruption times of permanent teeth and consumption of meat, rice, vegetables and milk in children of Peshawar. A team consisting of “a dentist and an assistant” visited randomly selected schools. Children with consent from their parents underwent oral check-ups and those having a “just erupted tooth” in the oral cavity were chosen for further investigation. These children were then examined for being ‘erupted’, ‘just erupted’ and “unerupted” teeth. Along with the time of eruption, information regarding gender, height, weight and dietary habits (consumption of meat, vegetable, rice and milk) in the family were also collected. Out of 1945 children, 1066 (54.8%) were females with mean age of 8.98 (±2.16) years and 879 (45.2%) were males with mean age of 10.2 (±2.63) years. The mean eruption time of mandibular right central incisor (# 41) was lowest while right mandibular second molar (#47) was the last tooth to erupt. There were no significant associations between eruption times of permanent teeth and consumption of meat, rice, vegetable and milk by the children. However, more frequent use of meat showed a trend of early eruption and more frequent use of vegetables showed a trend towards late eruption of permanent teeth.